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Negative ion generator

StaticCharge

Dec 20, 2012
8
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Dec 20, 2012
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It' me again xD

I want to make a negative ion generator.I have the schematics but I need the right capacitors, and I don't have them.I'm starting with about 24V AC,and I want to increase voltage as much as I can.In my scheme it says I need 1000V, 3.3nF polyester capacitors.Well I know I can BUY them,but I was wondering can I find any high voltage capacitors in every day life devices? I have some broken TVs,radios,heaters,washing machines...
Also,is capacity of capacitor important when making ion generator?
 

Raven Luni

Oct 15, 2011
798
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Oct 15, 2011
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798
Hmm - I find myself answering this precicely because I DONT know what I'm talking about. I've read a bit about these devices and would love to build one but this is dangerous territory and not something that should be attempted by amateurs like us :p

From everything I've seen, the capacitors tend to be chosen 'to taste'. The voltages produced (tens if not hundreds of kilovolts) are several orders of magnitude greater than the maximum voltage rating of any capacitor available. Considering that they are being fed pulsed DC, what that says to me is that the resonance of such a circuit has to be such that the charging time is much less than it would take for a capacitor to exceed its voltage rating.

The people who design these things have obviously worked all this out. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Also, consider if simply copying someone's design is a good idea. How do you know its not a copy of something else which has been messed around with and is completely untested?

Also, the big resistor on the end is not just your only protection from certain death, but also probably a factor in the aofore-mentioned resonance. That in itself is pretty dam scary.
 

Raven Luni

Oct 15, 2011
798
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I think a positive ion generator would be much more fun - they are said to cause headaches, depression etc. Think of the despair you could sew :p
 

StaticCharge

Dec 20, 2012
8
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Dec 20, 2012
Messages
8
I think a positive ion generator would be much more fun - they are said to cause headaches, depression etc. Think of the despair you could sew :p

LOL :D Well with negative one you can disrupt or even destroy electronic devices such as cell phones :p Dr. Evil would be proud :D
 

StaticCharge

Dec 20, 2012
8
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Dec 20, 2012
Messages
8
Uhh I need help.My voltage multiplier doesn't work :(
I used "Villard cascade" scheme to make one but after third capacitor the voltage starts dropping...diodes are ok so capacitors are to be blamed.I don't get it,is capacitor voltage important for this type of shceme??? Is capacity important? If I use a capacitor with 100V limit,can I multiply voltage beyond 100V? And what am I supposed to brake to find some like 3000V capacitors? Hmmm we have 2 brand new TVs...maybe I can smash one of them to find some neat capacitors...see what this is doing to me!?
 

Relayer

Dec 15, 2012
39
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Dec 15, 2012
Messages
39
Well I know I can BUY them,but I was wondering can I find any high voltage capacitors in every day life devices? I have some broken TVs,radios,heaters,washing machines...
You should be able to find HV ceramic capacitors in most switch mode power supplies and isolated antenna connections in the backs of TV's.
The caps are usually rated from 3 to 6kV, are blue or tan in color.
They are mainly used for isolation.
Regards,
Relayer :D
 

StaticCharge

Dec 20, 2012
8
Joined
Dec 20, 2012
Messages
8
Ok I smashed one old TV I found.There are many ceramic capacitors,but they are all low voltage.I see one block-shaped that has this written on it: PBS 430nJ S2 400-1.25A :confused: what's up with that? One more thing-do all capacitors in this scheme need to be exactly the same(same capacity,came voltage)? Sorry for being annoying with this,but I really want to (for once) make something that works properly.
 
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